January 29, 2018

Delphi Complete Works of Donatello

From his triumphant David crafted for the Medici family to his striking Paduan equestrian monument dedicated to Erasmo da Narni, Donatello was the essential sculptor of 15th-century Renaissance Florence. Deftly able to navigate the lingering conventions of the late Gothic era with the percolating interest in Classical themes, Donatello offered invaluable contributions to the revival of ancient ideals, a theme illustrated prominently in the digital Complete Works of Donatello.

As this lushly illustrated digital volume reveals, Donatello entered the Florentine art scene at a pivotal moment of transition. Joining the workshop of Lorenzo Ghiberti, he discovered that both painters and sculptors in the Tuscan city were exploring the potential revival of Greco-Roman artistic ideals. Accordingly, Donatello considered similar themes in his early works, yet this interest grew exponentially into a deep passion. Reviving the Classical form with his bronze rendition of David, the first Classical male nude sculpted since antiquity, Donatello provided an essential catalyst for Renaissance thinking.